Circling Black Balloons
by ohlaladisco
Summary: After Blaine mistook Burt's questioning to mean that he had overstayed his welcome Blaine's life is changed forever by admittance, betrayal, hurt & an unexpected safe house. Times are difficult & heartbreaking but the unlikeliness of hope can be found in the darkest corners of life, & the results could meld or shatter. Continuation of 'stranger than your sympathy' by popular demand
1. I PROMISE

Burt Hummel felt his fingers tremble as he stood in the next room grasping desperately at the phone. The other line was ringing, but that did nothing to calm Burt's growing panic as he listened to Carole trying to at least neutralize the situation and comfort Blaine at the same time.

"It's okay sweetheart, you'll be okay - Blaine? Can you hear me?"

She rubbed the dark haired boy's back soothingly, hoping that it would help her efforts to calm him.

For the moment Blaine seemed to be stabilized, though his eyes were still shut tight - unseeing - and Carole had never seen the boy look so pale or lost.

"Call Kurt," Carole had said to her husband and not ten minutes before.

The boy certainly wasn't going to die; no - Blaine Anderson was so much stronger than that. But the Hudmel household knew very little about Blaine's past, which included medical history, and Carole wanted to make sure they'd been through everything before they went to the hospital, since Blaine was at least breathing with significant improvement by now.

Listening carefully, Carole noted Burt's conversation in the other room, knowing that Kurt was on the other line. This settled her own, though much more minimal amount, panic. Because she knew how much Burt loved this boy, who was currently having a bit of trouble, but and did not want Burt to follow suit.

Carole knew instinctively that Kurt would calm him down, and at the same time be a huge help in figuring out just what exactly was going on. At least, this is what she hoped, as she comforted Blaine continuously and slowly got him ready for transport. His condition was stable right now, but a hospital still sounded like a good idea to Carole, who didn't want to risk anything concerning the life of one of their closest, most beloved family friends.

In the other room, Burt was acting on those same feelings.

"Kurt," the older man spoke tersely into the phone as the ringing on the other line came to a halt. He breathed a sigh of relief, and hoped Carole hadn't heard it, knowing that she was already worried enough without him rattling himself up over everything that was happening.

"Dad," said the voice on the other line, and Burt immediately felt the adrenaline rushing though his veins start to calm.

"Is everything alright?"

"Kurt, ah, we just need - well, no, frankly - no. But I need you not to panic."

Burt said the words and tried to follow them himself. It wasn't easy.

"Panic? Dad, just tell me, what's going on! You're okay, right? Carole's okay?"

Kurt would never admit to it, but losing the people he loved was his greatest fear, and when there was any risk of that happening - the boy would drop everything else in his life to somehow be able to - or at least try his very best - make it stop.

If Kurt tried to fly home again this time, Burt wouldn't let him.

Blaine Anderson was in good hands.

"It's just that Blaine & I were watching football, but he seemed a little off you know? How he gets sometimes but I never really noticed before? So I asked him about it and he started getting all weird - choked up, maybe - said something about not going home and not being able to do this anymore. Kurt, he basically had a panic attack and still hasn't entirely recovered from it, though Carole's been able to calm him down somewhat."

Burt paused finally and listened for some kind of reaction.

But in that moment, there was only silence.

Until -

"But he's okay?" Kurt asked shakily.

"He will be," Burt replied.

"Carole just wants to know where all of this might be coming from and why, before we go have him checked out and all. We don't want to make anything worse. Kurt, what's this all about? Why did he mention his father? Is something..." Burt heard his voice trail off instinctively as his head formed some of the worst scenarios he'd ever imagined in his life.

"I don't know," Kurt choked - suddenly realizing what an awful boyfriend he must have been to Blaine, not to have noticed this, or asked much about his home life. It was just something that Blaine had never really been keen on talking about, so Kurt hadn't pushed.

"I -" Kurt tried again.

But there were no words, and he bit his lower lip as tears began to leak from the corners of his eyes. How could he have let this happen? And now it was his father who was picking up the pieces. His father who had cancer and enough to deal with on his own.

"It's okay Kurt," said Burt in his best fatherly tone.

"Kurt listen to me, it's gonna be alright kid. Carole & I will take care of it."

"But..." Kurt responded desperately, and Burt shook his head at the attempt even though there was no way Kurt could have seen the motion.

"No," Burt said firmly.

"Dad - he needs me," Kurt whimpered, on the verge of panicking himself.

"What he needs is a father," Burt said simply.

This time it was Kurt who nodded without being able to respond at first, but his father continued - somehow knowing exactly what to say in order to calm Kurt down and make everything alright. Burt Hummel was the best person Kurt had ever known.

"You need to stay in New York, Kurt. You've got classes and important things to do, like showing those scoundrels what an amazing person you are and how much you deserve this. Carole and I can take care of this. The house is empty with Finn gone and Sam visiting his parents, so Blaine will have plenty of room to recoup and we'll work our parenting marvels on him, son. You know we can. And he'll be yours to visit when you get a break or long weekend, okay? Everything will be fine. Trust me."

"Okay," Kurt said warily.

"Dad, what about his family? What if, with what he said I -" the young man stumbled on his words from the worry that caught unsympathetically in the back of his throat.

"I'll deal with that, too" Burt said seriously, his tone going dark - stony, almost.

"Okay," Kurt said quietly.

"Love you Dad," he added, and felt the tears begin to subside, but not the remorse.

"Love you too kid, love you too" Burt responded, and then the lines went dead.

Slowly, very slowly, Kurt fell down onto his bed and buried his face in his hands.

And even as he chided and imprisoned himself for what was happening now because of him, all the way back in Lima and after almost an entire year, Kurt knew that his father was right.

He had no reason but to believe.

In what, he wasn't sure.

But believe he certainly did, where it counted - at the very least.

In the very pit of his heart.

Blaine Anderson would turn out fine.


	2. II INTERRUPT

Blaine Anderson faltered as the world crashed down around him. Sounds all around him, if there had been any in the first place, became muddled and unclear. It was an entire sequester of white noise, where he flickered in and out of consciousness, unable to find himself; bereft of the world.

Then suddenly there were rotations of warmth migrating the impassive stretch of his back. In that moment, if only for a second, Blaine blinked quickly into reality - saw that he was 'safe' - and blinked back out again, completely losing control.

"You'll be alright," the voices swam in his head.

They were mangled, mutilated, and all he wanted was air as the organization of his brain entirely broke down into fragments and 10,000 tiny pieces that might never be found.

"Where am I?"

The sound of his own, quite unexpected voice startle him awake.

"Blaine?"

He recognized that voice, but was not sure why. Why did it sound so familiar, and where on Earth was he? Her certainly was not at home... But why? He should be at home.

His father...

Oh.

Blaine's eyes fluttered wildly as he tried to escape the nightmare that was trying to come back to life. Get it out, get it out, Blaine's instincts screamed. Let it float away.

But it could not.

And then there were tears in his eyes as he remembered.

"I'll go get Burt," the voice said with purpose and meaning.

"Hold tight, bud - you're gonna be fine."

Who was that? OH.

Blaine's mind jolted at the realization.

It had been Finn. Had to have been.

Who else called Burt, Burt? Besides himself.

How had he not understood that to begin with?

Blaine struggled to sit up, but his entire body felt like it was wired down, and suddenly the hash beeping sound of machines was prominent in his ears. No more white noise, and oh how he missed it. He missed the comforting, all consuming nothing. He wanted it back.

So he closed his eyes.

And did not wake up.


End file.
